‘Gay cake’ bakery guilty of discrimination

A judge has found Belfast’s Ashers Baking Company guilty of discrimination against a gay customer.

The bakery was taken to court by gay rights activist Gareth Lee, after it refused to make a cake with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage.”

According to the BBC, the judge has not yet outlined what sanction the bakery will face.

The Belfast judge said Ashers were not exempt from discrimination law, and explained that Ashers are "conducting a business for profit" and are not a religious group.

Lee had claimed the bakery discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexual orientation.

Ashers said the slogan was against their Christian beliefs, however the judge said while they accepted the religious views, the bakery was still not above the law.

Speaking outside the Belfast court ahead of the ruling, Ashers general manager Daniel McArthur said: "We happily serve everyone but we cannot promote a cause that goes against what the Bible says about marriage.

"We have tried to be guided in our actions by our Christian beliefs."

The cake row hit the headlines in July 2014, and in November the Equality Commission confirmed plans to take legal action against the bakery.